Medicine-case



(No Model.)

L. I. BODENHAMER.

. MEDICINE CASE.

Patented Jan. 6, 1891 UNITED STAT S PATENT OFFICE-g LEVI I. BODENHAMER,OF KERNERSVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA MEDICINE-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,216, dated January6, 1891.

. Application fild April 5, 1890;

,nersville, in the county of Forsyth and State of North Carolina, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Physicians PortableMedicine-Cases; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has relation to portable medicine-cabinets; and it consistsin the construction and novel arrangement of parts, as hereinafter morefully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointedout in the appended claims.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide a neat, simple, andinexpensive cabinet for the use of physicians in visiting the sick,whereby any number of bottles containing tinctures and other medicinesmay be carried; secondly, to divide the cabinet into'sections,preferably three in number, as shown, for classifying different drugs;thirdly, to provide the cabinet with a revoluble stand manipulated fromthe top of; the cabinet by means of a suitable shaft; fourthly, toprovide the cabinet with a novel device for preventing the stoppers inthe bottles on the revoluble stand from coming out by accident, and,fifthly, to provide the cabinet with a hinged drop-leaf for theconvenience of the physician in compounding prescriptions.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section of a cabinetembodying my improvements, the hinged leaf shown in a lowered position;Fig. 2, a side view, partly in section, the hinged leaf being down; Fig.3, a detail plan view of the revoluble stand; Fig.

4, a plan view of one of the upper compartments; Fig. 5, a detailvertical section of the central partition, showing rods D, f, and fReferring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters ofreference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures, the letter Aindicates the cabinet, which is of a general rectangular form.

B designates a horizontal partition, secured to the ends and sides inany desired manner,

and has risingfrom it atits longitudinal center a vertical partition B,which, as shown, divides the interior of the cabinet into threecompartments (1, b, and c. I11 the center of the bottom B is formed arecess, having secured therein a socket a for the reception of thereduced end (1 of a shaft D, passing upward through an opening d, formedin the partitions B and B, and, as will be noticed in Fig. 1, said shaft.is provided at its lower end,

in the compartment 0, with the squared portion (1 upon which is secureda stand E, consisting of the bottom 6, having rising from it, upon itsupper face, an annular boss e, provided with a squared aperture, inwhich is secured in any desired manner the shaft 1). v The stand E bypreference is made circular, the bottom of which at its outer edge isprovided with a vertical flange e and in order that any number ofbottles maybe placed upon and carried by the stand I form the stand, asshown in Fig. 3, with a series of radiating partitions 6 between theboss 6, and the flange 6 forming receptacles etfor the bottles 6 whichin cross-section are of the contour of the receptacles 6 In order thatthe stoppers in the bottles may not by accident fall out, and also forholding the bottles themselves, I employ the following means: At eachside of the shaft D, in the partitions B and B, are formed verticalopenings F F, in which are designed to work rods ff, their lower endssecured to a circular plate f designed to rest upon the bottlestoppersof the bottles in the revoluble stand. The rod fextends upward throughthe top of the cabinet, an 1 carries at its upper end a depressor-knob fprovided in its side, as shown in Fig. 5, with an opening f*, in whichis adapted to fit a pinf on a Hat spring fflwhich is secured at itslower end in the opening F by means of a screw f said spring having atits upper end a suitable finger-hold f by means of which the pin f isdisengaged from the depressor-knob. The rod f, as shown in Figs. 2 and3, does not extend the entire length of the opening F, but issufficiently long to prevent its disengagement from the opening F whenthe retainer-plate isin a lowered position.

In order that the plate-f may be carried IOC upwald when the pin f iswithdrawn from I the openingfin the depressor-knob and hold said platein its adjusted position, i place a spiral spring G between the upperface of the retainer-plate and the bottom of the partition B,surrounding the shaft '1), having its lower end secured to theretainer-plate and its upper end to the bottom of the partition B. Itwill thus be seen that when therodfis dc pressed, carrying with it theplate f until it rests upon the bottle-stoppers, the pin f in thedepressorknob holds said plate against the tension of the spring G, andthus removes all danger of the bottle-stoppers or the bottles themselvescoming out by accident.

To readily permit; of bottles of different heights and capacities to becarried in the cabinet in the uppercompartments, the top of the cabinetis given somewhat of a slant, as shown in Fig. ],and in the compartments(1 Z) a vertical longitudinal partition I] ll is placed, extending fromend to end of said compartments, as shown in Fig. ii.

In order that a number of bottles may be placed in the compartments a Z)and to remove all danger of theirbreakingby striking against oneanother, a series of transverse parl titions h and 7t are interposedbetween the l partitions IIIIand the sides B of the cabinet.

Upon one of thesides 13 of the cabinet and hinged to the bottomB is adrop-leaf I, which when in its lowered position is held at right anglesto the sides of the cabinet, as shown by ahinged brace I, having one ofits ends pivoted to the drop lcaf and its opposite end pivoted in an oiiening, 1', formed in the side of the cabinet, and when said drop-leafis in its raised position the hinged levers fold and assume the positionshown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, within the cabinet. The object of thedrop leaf is to form a ready table or shelf for the physician tocompound his prescription upon.

At one end of the compartment 0 is formed a receptacle J, adapted toreceive and hold a suitable druggists scales, neatly packed in a 1 boxJ.

To readily permit of access to the compartment 0, whereby the bottlescarried by the revoluble stand E may be reached, a circular opening C isformed in the side of the compartment, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The letter K indicates the lid or cover of the cabinet, which bypreference is made of leather or the like, and is secured at its centralpart on the upper edge of the partition I), and is provided at each sidewith the integral dependent flaps 7. and in, the former of which is cutaway at its central portion, as shown in Fig. 2, whereby said flap willnot be in the way of the physician when the dropieaf is down and hide toview the labels on the bottles on the revolnble stand as they are turnedto View when compounding a prescription. The flap 7c is provided at itslower edge at each side of the cutaway portion, with elongated eyes orslots L, adapted to receive like fasteners Z on the outer face of thedrop-leaf when said leaf is in a raised or closed position. The flap 7ais provided with the elastic loops M, having at their lowerends suitableelongated eyes or slots, adapted to fit: over shouldered pins 211,secured to the sides of the cabinet.

'l'o readily permit of the revoluble stand l 1 being turned whendesired, I place upon the shaft D at its upper end a suitable milledhead N, and secure on the top and lid of the cabinet a handle N, wherebythe cabinet may be easily carried. At one corner of the cabinet isplaced a suitable slide-lock (l, the keeper 0 adapted to enter asuitable opening in the drop-leaf when said leaf is in a closedposition. A

In constructing my portable cabinet I prefer to make it of light woodand cover the same with leather or the like, which may be embossed orornamented, making the cabinet very attractive, and at the same timeadding strength to it.

I do not desire to limit myself to the pre cise construction hereinshown and described, as many minor changes may be made without departingfrom the spirit of my invention.

The operation of my improved portable cabinet, taken in connection withthe above description and accompanying drawings, may be brieflydescribed as follows: When it; is desired to compound a prescription,the cab inet is opened and the drop leaf or shelf lowcred, as shown inFig. 1, and by releasing the pin. f from engagement with thedepressorknob allow the retainer-plate, through the medium of the spiralspring G, to be raised, when by turning the shaft D by the milled head Nthe stand E may be revolved and display to view the labels on thebottles carried thereby. After a prescription has been com pounded thecabinet is closed and the retainer-plate forced down by thedepressorknob until the pin f" engages the opening-f in thedepressor-knob, which prevents all liability of the stoppers or thebottles them selves on the revoluble stand from falling out by accident.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is"

1. The herein-described cabinet, divided into a lower and two uppercompartments, a revoluble stand in the lower compartment, and the hingeddrop-leaf secured to the cabinet, limited in its downward movement by ahinged brace, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a cabinet divided. into compartments, the uppertwo provided with receptacles, of the revolublc stand carried by ashaft, in the lower compartment, said shaft having a point of bearing ina socket in the bottom of the cabinet and carrying at its upper end amilled head, substantially as described.

3. The combination,with a cabinet divided into compartments, of arevoluble stand in the lower compartment carried by a shaft, andvertical rods supported and guided in the cabinet and carrying aretainer-plate adapted to be forced down upon the stoppers in thebottles on the revoluble stand, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a cabinet divided into compartments, of arevolnble stand in the lower compartment carried by a shaft, verticalrods supported and guided in the cabinet and carrying a retainer-plateadapted to be forced down upon the stoppers in the bottles on therevoluble stand, and a springcontrolled pin adapted to enter an openingin the depressor-knob, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a cabinet constructed as described, of aspring-controlled retainer-plate carried by rods within the cabinet,adapted to be held in its lowered position by a pin entering an openingin a depressor-knob 011 one of the rods, substantially as described.

6. The combination, in a cabinet divided into a lower and two uppercompartments, of a revoluble stand in the lower compartment, hingeddrop-leaf secured to the cabinet, and flexible lids for said cabinetprovided with dependent flaps having suitable fastenings at their loweredge, substantially as described.

7. The combination, in a cabinet divided into a lower and two uppercompartments, the said lower compartment having an opening in the side,of a revoluble stand carrying bottles in said lower compartment, ahinged drop-leaf, and a flexible lid covering one of the uppercompartments and the opening in the lower compartment, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

LEVI I. BODENIl AMER.

Witnesses:

HARVEY S. W. DE GAW, WM. H. BRERETON.

